Los Angeles, CA -- December 5, 1996 -- CDMA wireless telephone
technology has quickly established itself as the industry
standard for new wireless deployment with a total of more
than one million commercial customers worldwide using CDMA
systems by the end of 1996, the head of an industry group
told the opening of the CDMA North American Regional Congress.

Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDMA Development
Group (CDG), told the 1996 CDMA North American Regional Congress
that wireless systems using Code Division Multiple Access
(CDMA ) technology gained hundreds of thousands of new subscribers
in the U.S. and Asia in 1996, signaling a trend towards exponential
growth in CDMA deployment through the end of the decade.

LaForge said updated statistics released by operators from
around the world showed that CDMA, in only its first year
of commercial deployment, has achieved the fastest early adoption
of any new digital wireless technology.

"This has been a remarkable year for commercial deployment
of CDMA and the adoption of CDMA for future deployment in
areas of the world with phenomenal growth potential,"
LaForge told more than 500 industry leaders and technologists
attending the three-day conference.

The Congress brought together industry analysts, technical
experts and executives of leading telecommunications service
providers and equipment manufacturers to discuss the strategies
and operational issues that contribute to successful CDMA
cellular, wireless local loop and PCS system implementations.

The North American Congress followed closely on the heels
of a series of conferences sponsored by the CDG last month
in South America, which LaForge described as the next frontier
for CDMA deployment. Held in Brazil and Argentina and attended
by operators and government officials from throughout South
America, the conferences revealed that CDMA will be a likely
choice for many South American operators that are upgrading
their AMPS or existing digital IS-54 cellular systems, and
for new operators implementing PCS.

Presenters at the North American Congress, who were scheduled
to highlight the commercial deployment of CDMA systems and
recent commercial launches, included: